Ex-w&m President Cruises Away

The soft-spoken 25th president of the College of William and Mary wasn't at Friday's swearing-in of the 26th president, Gene R. Nichol.

"I don't think a ghost from Christmas past needs to be hanging around," said Timothy J. Sullivan -- who dressed as Santa Claus at holiday time to read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" to students.

Sullivan is cruising around in a new sports car, considering his next destination. He covered a lot of ground in his 12 years at the helm of the nation's second-oldest university. Sullivan tangled with politicians over state budgets, deftly answered town/gown concerns and began a fundraising campaign that has netted hundreds of millions of dollars.